If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Thunder God

Hi all,

It's been quite a while :P

So I never got the chance to take part in the Blender-Guru "Nature's Fury" Competition, but I still very much wanted to do something depicting the power of nature... also, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to thoroughly try out the new Volumetrics in Cylces.

(sorry for the noisy image, just 50 samples for now)
Comments and Critique most welcome and a happy new year to all you Blender-heads.

stunning idea, very powerful image, so IMO you achieved the fury that you set out to do, only thing i would like to see is that the god has a whole lot more muscles, i really think that it would add to the scene.

Hi Speed777777,
Thanks for your input good idea about the muscles. I was also thinking to enhance his muscles somewhat. also, maybe I'll be doing some lightning as well, maybe inside his arms or in his chest. like there's a storm inside him just building up and waiting to explode

Tremendous potential here (already looks superb). I agree that lightning bolt between fingers/hands (illuminating volumes nicely) will add a lot. Additionally something about face or general shape needs more definition/interest to make it truly epic.

This is 100% subjective and may or not work, however in top left corner(currently empty) you can also add some interest and make it more of a scene by adding extra detail (cool clouds, very small birds/flying creatures in distance - whatever to tell the story).

Thank you all for your encouraging words! @ cgstrive:Thanks mate! I think that's a great idea. I shall definetly experiment... Maybe some birds small in the background will work... Also yeah his face needs a bit of character. @ johhnygibbsThanks. I'm considering doing a detailed walkthrough of my workflow

When I first saw him, I got the impression he was screaming in pain or something; that the clouds were overwhelming him and converting him into basically water vapour, like he was being consumed. I didn't get the feeling of a 'god' persť, more like god's furious handiwork on a poor soul.

Reading your descriptions though, I can see where you're trying to take the image. Presumably, you're looking for someone who's content and elated, hence the hand positions and the 'excited' face? I don't know, I think if it were me I'd take some cloud away from his head because I'm drawn naturally to his eyes and the back of his head is spewing out cloud for some (drastic) reason. If you want him elated, I do definitely believe you should work more on his mouth. Right now it's basically a gaping hole on his face and doesn't really convey any emotion (other than, at first instinct, pain.)

All in all, I do like the image and it did make me stop and think which is good for a piece of art like this. I do think what you want the image to represent and what third parties see (particularly yours truly) is a bit mistranslated though and the balancing of the emotion a bit off.

minor Update
I started playing around with some lightning, also mad him more muscular and also changed the facial expression a bit.
Still so much to do :P I need to work more on the lightning and volume structure of the clouds, as well as add something in the background...

basically it all has to work together seamlessly to create a powerful image. I'm not there yet. Crits welcome

I hope I did not offend you by quickly and loosely drawing over it but It's very easy to get caught up in 3D that will soon become rigid and unchangeable. It's the best time to put some attention to design and direction

Things done:
- introduced some whispy clouds (hair, shockwave like clouds around him)
- increased volume of character defining muscles and face a bit (face is a bit thin right now)
- lightning arc between fingers also illuminating chest and volume of finger tips
- utilized the empty part of image by adding god rays
- warm to blue ramp and composition visual flow

PS. it's 100% subjective and there are many different ways you can execute it My purpose is to highlight some aspects and communicate ideas.

Hi all,
here's another update... I worked some on the lightning between his hands (credit goes to cgstrive for the idea)
I won't be doing much until monday because I've got some buddies at my place for a LAN. but please feel free to critique.
cheers,
G

I added sunbeams and worked on some minor stuff, and then I ran it through the compositor. I'm really not quite happy with this, the saturated colors are distracting, also the lightning is making the image to busy. I'm considering removing the lightning. :P please let me have your thoughts. please critique.
thanks,
G

Said that, i understand why you feel there is a problem with harmony. There are a few reasons to it. Firstly the bright area grabs all attention and creates some sort of association between the god and lightrays. Light rays themselves are not bad but they are there as a background detail, not to tell the story or compete for attention.

More:
- god rays are more parallel, yours are a bit too omnidirectional
- the lightning arc needs work to sell it, it's very dominant feature it needs to be perfect if image is presented in such a way.
- lightning should also respect the color_temperature and have some color falloff/glow(http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/light...-hits-tree.jpg)

I tried to do some stuff about harmony/purpose/story/scale in comp. Also cropped a bit

PS. Feel free to remove everything you need to, i only demonstrated 1 way how it could work( by utilizing available pose) if enough effort is put into it It would be wonderful if this image could spell EPIC, tell a story and have visual interest. Good luck

Last edited by cgstrive; 08-Jan-15 at 13:07.
Reason: small fixes to img attached

Perhaps it's a bit far along in the process (and I have no idea what system you're using for the cloud particles, like if it's rigged or not) but the finger position is a bit static. I'd expect if a thunder god was summoning lighting the fingers would be a bit more tensed and dynamic. A few examples of what I mean:

Just an idea, since the hands are one of the key parts of the comp. Also I'd suggest making the pose more asymmetrical, maybe look at this videofor inspiration.

Perhaps a closer, wider lens angle could help even more to portray the scale of the character.
Hope that helps!